POTM, 65 gallon, new project, and more!

Alright, I know it's been way to long since my last post.  Sorry, I'm just horrible at keeping up with posting on my blog.  (February 2012 was the most recent post on any of my other blogs, I'm doing good here!)

First some exciting news.  I found a $30 65 gallon tank at goodwill last month! Which I, of course, bought.  This is going to be my South American Biotope now.
Eventually it will have this stocking:
Plants:
Amazon Sword
Green Cabomba
Water Sprite
Dwarf Hairgrass
Dwarf Pennywort
Jungle Vallisneria (Red if I can find it!)
Fish:
2 Bolivian Rams
10 Glowlight tetras
10 Rummynose tetras
1 Angelfish
8 Corydoras Melini
2 Albino Bristlenose Plecos

My 55 gallon tank will be my Platy breeding project! I am going to divide it three ways - Males, Females, and Fry.

Lastly (for now) I am entering my family dog into the POTM (Pet of the Month) competition on the Fish Forum :)  Here are the pictures

 Isn't she cute?? :)

South American Biotope: part 6

First pictures today!

 This is the picture of the whole tank, and I'm soo happy with how it looks so far!  Once the "Cabomba forest", and the Amazon Swords grow a bit it'll be perfect.  I'm going to be adding a few (small) pieces of wood laying down in the "Forest", and a hollowed out log next to the bigger sword.  Maybe another hollowed out log at an angle between the two swords?

 These are the two Amazon Swords.  They both have a lot of growing to do, especially little one in the corner.

This is the "Cabomba Forest", and the first piece of wood I've added.  I really can't wait for the Cabomba to fill out a little more!

Here's my rock caves! I'm going to add more rocks before I finish stocking.  The Cories, and Plecos will appreciate it, I hope.

And these are my new Glowlight Tetras! They were given to me by someone who didn't want them anymore.  I currently have 7, tomorrow I'm going to get 3 more.

Well that's my tank so far! I'm super excited to finish it! Tomorrow more Glowlights, and maybe 6 neons?  Probably not, but you never know! :) Anyways, that's it for now! 

South American Biotope: part 4

Hi!

Okay, this is the FINAL DRAFT of my stocking plan! Woo! It's finally set.

• 10 Glowlight Tetras
• 10-12 Neon Tetras
• 8-10 False Bandit Cories
• 2 Albino Bristlenose Plecostomus
• 1+ Angel fish
• 4 Platys
• 2 Guppies

I'm finally happy with this stocking, and I'm pretty sure that it's not overstocked now.  Plants are the same as before, and I've decided not to add anymore.  Now I've just got to start.  More rocks, and wood are both needed right now.

Wish me luck!

South American Biotope: Part 2

Hello there! This is Part 2 of my South American Biotope "journal".

So the daily water changes are going pretty well, I'll post the stats for all of them when I'm done!
A few of my plants are being ordered soon!
My new plant list:
Amazon Swords
Green Cabomba
Duckweed
Watersprite
Christmas moss

I still need the Duckweed, and the Christmas moss, but the others I have, or are going to be ordered.
I also changed my stocking list, as much as I love the L444 Plecos they just won't work in my setup... Most of the fish I want come from slow moving streams, and the L444's come from fast moving streams, so that won't work.  Here's my stocking plan:
10 Glowlight Tetras
8 Black Widow Tetras
10 Albino Cories
8 Bandit Cories
4 German Blue Rams
3 Guppies
4 Platys

I think this stocking might be pushing it a little... So I may just get the bandit cories, and leave out the albino, or bring the albino numbers down to 8.  The glowlight tetras numbers have to be 10, because somebody I know is giving me 7, and they are apparently nipping, the more I have the less they nip, or so I've read.  The black widow tetras could be taken out, but they're my favorite kind of tetra, so... 4 GBRs might be tough, but with enough hiding places I should be able to swing it.  Unless I can find a store to buy them.  The guppies, and platys I already have, so I can't take those off the list.

So that's my new plan! Hopefully I won't change it too much more. :)

55 Filled!

  The 55 Gallon is officially full! Tonight I'm going to get ammonia and start the cycle.  This should be interesting.  I went to get some more plants today, I got El Nino fern, but apparently it's like Java fern and needs to be planted on a decoration, which I didn't want, so I gave it to my sister for a tank she's been wanting more plants for.  Hopefully the sand will settle soon, then I'll really be able to see how it looks! I keep imagining a big snakehead swimming by the front of the tank, through the murky water, and it would look amazing.  Someday...  Anyways, I completely forgot about my wood today, but I'll probably get it tomorrow.

  This morning I was in a panic because Zip was darting around the little tank, and swimming in tight little circles, then he stopped suddenly, and bubbles came out of his gills and mouth.  He's fine now, except the Platys keep nibbling on his top fin! I think they're starting to feel cramped, adding the Guppies last night did not help with that.  Soon they'll be in the tank though, I'm adding sponges from the 6.6 to the new filter, which will help the cycle.

  I'm thinking about trying "Quickstart" by Api, theoretically it won't hurt, and if it helps that would be good, but I'll skip that.  As soon as it's finished all of my little fishies (except Damien) will be going in the big tank, and I'll be getting my Female Guppies soon after that.  That's later though, I'm going to concentrate on the cycle, and my current fish first.

  Damien is doing well soon, he actually ate a little bit this morning when I fed him! Apparently it's rare for Bettas to eat the day after installed in the tank, but none of mine were like that.  He's such a gorgeous Betta fish, I'm still drooling over how beautiful he is.  I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him in the pet store, and I still feel like it's the first time I saw him every time I look at him! (<--- Sounds like a love song)

  More tomorrow :)

Damien Shadowe

Hello!

Today I got a new Betta! Damien Shadowe is a black, white, and blue "super-delta".  When I saw him at the pet store I picked him up, and I couldn't force myself to put him back.  I've been looking for a black Betta for over a year now! I've wanted to move my Guppies out of the Betta tank so they can get used to living with Zip, so this was perfect.  The fish in the 6.6 Gallon will only be in there for another few weeks anyways.  He seems a little thin, like he was underfed, but not like Jack was the day he died, which is good.

Started filling up my 55 Gallon today.  I added all the sand, some of the rocks, and my Amazon Swords, and one Anubias plant.  Soon the clouding from the sand should go down, probably just in time for me to start filling it up again tomorrow...  I'm going to get my branches started getting ready tomorrow, and hopefully I'll be able to get the Ammonia to start my cycle.  Tomorrow maybe I'll start a page "journal" about my 55 Gallon.  I'll post pictures for sure, though it doesn't look very nice yet.

More tomorrow!

55 Gallon

Yesterday I got my 55 Gallon tank! Today I will be cleaning the tank, and all it's supplies.  Tomorrow I'll fill it up and start the cycle!  My sand is almost ready, and my rocks need a bit more rinsing, but after that I'll add those things.  Hopefully I'll be able to add those today, but if not tomorrow before I fill up the tank I'll start my aquascape! Tomorrow afternoon I'll be running to get plants, and ammonia for the cycle.  My  wood isn't ready yet, so I'll add that in after the cycle is finished, right before the fish!

My fish are all well, Elijah is normal sized again.  I'm going to be getting 6 female guppies as soon as my other fish go in the big tank, the female guppies will be in quarantine for a few days then I will add them to the big tank.  Then I'll get the platys, and the other Pleco, and after they're quarantine period is over my tank will be finished! :)

My plans are almost complete.

My 55 Gallon is coming soon! And my plans for it are pretty much done.

Cycling:

I'm going to do a Fishless cycle, adding filter media from my current filter to help get it started.  It'll be good experience for me!

Substrate, rocks, and wood:

I'm using play sand as a substrate, $5 per 50lbs! I have to rinse all 100lbs of sand I have so it doesn't cloud the water, it will when I first add it, but it will settle in a few hours, to a day.  

I'm using rocks I found outside around my house, and making them safe for my aquarium one at a time by pouring boiling water over them, testing the water for a few days and watching for major pH changes, then pouring a little bit of vinegar on each rock, if there are bubbles then there is chalk in the rocks, so they can't be used as they'll change the pH drastically, then after the "vinegar trick" I put them back in hot water to clean them. 

For wood I'm going to find some Oak branches.  To make them safe for my fish I'm going to debark them, let them dry, then pour boiling water over them, and leave them for a few days to leech the tannins out.

Plants:

I've decided to grow live plants in my new tank, I've never done this before, but buying enough fake plants for it sounds even worse than growing my own! I'm going to have green or purple Cabomba, Java Fern, Christmas Moss, some Anubius, and an Amazon Sword plant.  It'll look awesome if it's anything like what I'm picturing in my head! 

Fish:

My stocking list isn't very different, but I've lost three Platys, and I've change the other bottom dwelling fish I want.  

1 Golden Gourami.

8 Platys (I'm going to bring the number back up to 8 with 3 blue ones!)

6+ Guppies (I'm going to add 4-6 females for a male:female ratio of either 1:2, or 1:3, 1:3 is better, so I'll probably go with that.)

2 L444 Plecos (I already have one, but I'd like to get a female also, maybe I'll get lucky and get some eggs!)

I'm aquascaping the tank, and I want the design to be a surprise, so no more details! Well, that's it for now, my tanks are all running well, and my fish are all healthy!

RIP

I've lost 2 fish in as many months.  Tara, on of my platys, died a few days ago.  I have been really busy lately so I couldn't clean the tank out as much as I'd like, and with the crowding she got really sick.  Lexi is also sick, but tomorrow I'm going to do another major water change.  Other than that here's a quick update.

Kathrine still has not given birth as far as I've seen, but she must have at least once since I got her, meaning they've been eating all of the babies... Lexi's been too sick I think, even with daily, or every other day water changes her condition only gets a little better then worse that night, I'm going to leave her in the quarantine tank when I get the big tank until she's better.  Elena, Rosie, and Scarlet are all about the same size now, and Elena doesn't seem to be growing anymore.  Tara is still small, but she's bigger than when I got her! I added Elijah back in with the girls so maybe he'll eat, he's already much more active, chasing them around.  He is afraid of Zip though, and every time he chases Lexi Zip swims over and scares him away! Zip's tail is growing back!! Yay! Muddy loves his cave, and I now have some algae growing on a seashell in the tank that he's been eating.  Stefan, and Damon are happy guppies, and at some point I will have four or more females to go with them! 

Still don't have the 55 Gallon tank, but I have tons of rocks for it, and sand.  I just need the plants, and I was recently given a gift card to my local pet store so those will be taken care of soon enough :)

That's it for today's update!

Something about Platys...

Something a lot of people don't realize about platys, livebearers in general, is that they will eat their own babies, and the tankmates will often eat the fry.  So what is thought to have happened to Kathrine's babies is that she gave birth at her old home, and they ate most of the babies.  All but one as far as I know.  So now I have to wait for Tara, and Lexi to give birth, I'm really excited about having baby fish, even though I won't be able to keep them.

Tank update:
Getting the 55 Gallon tank tonight, and setting it up tomorrow! Tomorrow I will be picking up Java fern, and temporarily putting it all in the big tank until all of my fish are out of the Quarantine tank, and Betta tank, then I'm going to upgrade both to sand, and live plants.  Aquascaping the big tank should be interesting! I've found five pictures of aquascapes on Google that I really like, so I'm going to try and put them all together into one really awesome aquascape! I'm going for a moderately planted, with wood, and rocks look.  After this post I have to find some rocks :)

Fish update:
I will have had my new fish for a week tomorrow! :) I cleaned out from under Muddy's rock this morning, and had to kick him out.  He was spazzing everywhere until I finished and put his cave back together! My platys don't enjoy water changes either.  Lexi has some kind of fungus, or Ich! I'm not completely sure, but it should be easy enough to get rid of.  Elijah still won't eat! He'll be back with his girls on the 15th, at latest.  I'll probably put him back with the girls after moving Kathrine, and Tara out.  So the 12th.  The guppies are the most playful fish I've ever had! I love them, a lot ;p I'm going to pay for 5-6 female guppies tonight, then pick them up in a week or so.  I'm really excited about all of this!

Future 55 Gallon tank

The only reason I got my 12 new fish is because pretty soon I'm getting a 55 Gallon tank, and I'm putting them all into the big tank! This is my plan for it.  I'm hoping to get it this week.

Substrate: Play Sand

Plants: Java Fern, Amazon Swords, Green Cabomba, Wendtii Red/Brown, Sunset Hygrophila, and Anubias petite nana.


Fish: 1 Golden Gourami, 8 Platys (7:1 female:male ratio is what I have!), 9 Guppies (2:1 female:male ratio), 2 Striped Rubbernose Plecos (have 1 already, and I think I'd like another), and 6-8 Kuhli Loaches.


First, I'm going to add the sand, decorations, and plants.  It depends on how the plants need to be planted.  Ones that need to go in the sand are planted before decorations go in.  Others go in after.  After I add sand I add some water, before anything else.  Then I fill it with water, and add the first fish.

I plan to add in the fish a few at a time so the filter can handle the waste load.  The order:
1. Gourami will go in as soon as I get the tank set up, he comes with the tank.
2. A week later I'll put the two biggest platys in, the next day I'll put the next two, the next day the same, then the smallest, and the male the next day!
3. A week after the first platys go in the male guppies go in, then a few days later the females.
4. The Kuhli Loaches are next, I'll probably add them in all at once.
5. The Plecos are last! I might end up getting some snails too, but I don't know yet, I'll decide that later.

For the 6.6 Gallon tank I'm going to get sand, and live plants, but leave it empty as a quarantine tank.

The 3.5 Gallon is going to be a lot of fun.  It's going to be a Halloween themed Betta tank! I'm going to get black, and orange gravel (I'm going to put it over a layer of sand to put plants in), live plants (only colored plants that match the gravel!), and Halloween themed decorations.  I have plastic pumpkins that I'm going to cut up so my future Betta can swim through it, maybe I'll get a Skull decoration, and a shark.  I'm not sure of the specific decor yet, but by Christmas I'll have a Halloween themed Betta tank I hope :)  Then I'm going to see if I can find either I black and orange, black and red, red, black (maybe with dark blue), or purple Betta to go in it!  If I can find a full Halfmoon in one of the colors I just listed it would be even better.

That's my tank plan!

Fish update:
Muddy the Pleco has been holding onto the bottom of the rock in the cave I gave him, and then falling off, freaking me out, and moving just as I start to really panic.  I believe that Muddy is in fact a he.  Kathrine still has not given birth.  Tara is getting close to giving birth too! Lexi is still pretty far behind.  Elijah continues his sulking, and refuses to eat.  Stefan, and Damon are still friends and got really excited when I turned the filter on this morning.  I fed Emmett a pea, so if he did have a swim bladder problem hopefully I managed to clear it up.  If not, well, he ate something for the first time I saw.  Toph is still tiny, and loves swimming up, and down next to the wall of the tank.  It's a little weird... Elena, Rosalie, and Scarlet play together, I'd never seen fish play until I got guppies, and platys, my female Bettas used to play in the filter bubbles for two seconds until they saw the other females, then went into attack mode.  When Zoey was the only Betta in the tank she hated the filter.

Well, that's enough for now.